Letter: Giving to the United Way

One of the high points of my year is working on the annual United Way fundraising campaign. I enjoy being a volunteer for a cause that sees immediate life-changing results. We come together as a county to support 20 local agencies as we tackle difficult problems. So many of our neighbors and friends struggle to simply feed their family or purchase school supplies for their children. And when the cold winter season comes upon us, they need coats to keep warm. Our United Way dollars make a difference in protecting families who experience violence in their homes and need help with court-appointed advocacy support so that they can stand up for themselves during life-threatening situations. Your Leavenworth County United Way volunteers work hard to inspire action as we participate in public policy decisions such as these.

Even during our times of economic stress, we live in a country and a community that represents the highest standard of living in the world. But we don’t have to look far to see that not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to pay for utilities and rent without having to sacrifice food and clothing needs. What makes us so strong is our willingness to give back to help those who can’t find work and can’t support their families until they can get their situations turned back around in the right direction.

Leavenworth County United Way consists of a board of volunteers who supervise the dollars that you give to make certain that administrative costs are held in check and that the majority of our contributions are spent to support our local agencies. Our books are audited by a certified public accountant each year. Budget hearings take place annually to hear the needs that are presented to us by each of our agencies. Then we come to this point of the year when we reach out to you for help in meeting those needs.

What is United Way? It is you and I coming together to invest in caring, empowering and learning. Please make time to learn more about us on our Web site at www.unitedwaylvco.org and fill out your pledge card today. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we hope that you will join us in our mission.